What is an annotated bibliography?

This is a list of sources that you have found which help explain your topic. It can be an
assignment on its own, or be used as pre-writing for a research paper.

The paper’s appearance is unique. It is formal, but supposed to be informative and quick
to read. Write what you learned from that source and how it helps answer your question.
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Introduction – 1 page, double-spaced. Introduce the topic, why you chose it, and state
any hypotheses you may have before you begin researching.

Each source gets ½ page of space, for a total of at least 3 pages (6 sources).
Each source begins with the MLA style citation, a brief description of the research
findings and is followed by your reaction, comments, and how you plan to use the source.
This section is single-spaced.

Conclusion – 1 to 2 pages, double-spaced. General. Evaluate your research—complete?

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Kumaravadivelu, B. “Toward a Postmethod Pedagogy.” TESOL Quarterly 35:4 (2001) 537-560.

This article was the starting point for my research and central to this paper. In this
article, Kumaravadivelu introduces his post-method approach that is a departure from the
constraints of methodology. The main focus is a pedagogy of particularity, practicality,
and possibility, with further explanations of what a typical post-method instructor and
students would look like. Under particularity, the author mentions that we must assess
our surroundings because our pedagogy, “to be relevant, must be sensitive to a particular
group of learners pursuing a particular set of goals within a particular…sociocultural
milieu.” (p. 538) Lived experience is central to language and symbol formation, so we
must be aware of the facilitating and detracting effects that life experience plays where
we are teaching. Not all things are practical in all areas, especially due to social forces
that resist ethnocentrism and strife. We must employ Manen’s ideal of pedagogical
thoughtfulness to explore what will be accepted by our students and why. In deciding
what is possible, with an open mind we can use the existing conflicts to spark meaningful
discourse and empower the students to change their social world, if only inside of their
own classroom. Learners and teachers should be autonomous and flexible, and open to
interpersonal and intrapersonal development. The author also suggests encouraging
students to become critical thinkers, although some literature describes critical thinking
as ethnocentric. Teachers create their own hypotheses from experience and act as
researchers in the field, constantly implementing new strategies, observing the results and
reflecting about their own teaching.

van Manen, Max. ”The Pedagogical Moment”. The Tact of Teaching, p. 37-64. 1991, Albany:
SUNY Press. Manen is cited often in the literature of pedagogy for his insights into the
sympathetic roles of teachers. He emphasizes a spirit of respect and inquiry towards
different cultures so that teachers can make informed observations regarding what works
in the classroom and why, as well as build a rapport with the students that will keep the
teacher informed about future social influences. A teacher need not be an equal friend,
but he or she should be involved in the lives, struggles, and dramas of student life if a
meaningful, specific curriculum is to be developed and implemented. He notes that
teachers are among the most influential people in the lives of young children. We are
required to take action and give input about situations in the world, and our input should
aim to maximize the learning experience of the students. Manen focuses mainly on
situations where students are faltering due to stressful circumstances around them. The
vastly different social situations require unique theories of pedagogy to address specific
needs. This tension can be an educational part of school life if we remember that our role
includes preparing students for “the practice of living” in general and we should be
reflective about our students’ lives.